Filing aid



Oct. 22,1963 E. R. HADDAD l 3,107,673

FILI'NG'AID Filed Febi 11, leso Em R. HADDAD BY Mf hab/n0g' United States Patent O 3,107,673 FILING AID Eli R. Haddad, 381 Hamilton St., Worcester 4, Mass. Filed Feb. 11, 1960, Ser. No. 8,028 1 Claim. (Cl. 12,9-1)

This invention relates to a tiling aid, and, in particular, to means for facilitating the addition and removal of a file card file sheet or other type of a le record to and from a retaining member.

It is the general object of the invention to modify the construction of a tile record yto permit the edgewise insertion and removal of said record to and from a retaining member.

More specifically, it is one object to provide a reinforcing tab which is adapted to be applied adhesively in overlying relation to the area surrounding the usual binder hole or holes adjacent one edge of a le record and which is eiective to permit quick and easy insertion of the record to a retaining member or binder at any desired location thereupon and which is removable from the binder only upon the application of substantial tension, without, however, any damage to the tab or tile record, all without the necessity of unlocking or disconnecting the binder in any manner.

It is a further object to strengthen that area of a le record adjacent the binder holes so that the record is much less likely to be removed unintentionally from the binder or to be torn or damaged in that area.

It is a further object to provide means for permitting communication between a relatively rigid tile record such as a file card and the nsual retaining ring or rod for storing a plurality of such records ywhile preventing unintentional removal of the record from the retaining metmber.

Heretofore, many different types of reinforcing tabs have been known for application to le records such as loose leaf pages and the like, one of the most common of which is the flat circular disc having an eyelet therein which is adapted to be adhesively applied to a loose leaf page with the eyelet in register with the tile hole of the leaf. Such a tab is merely intended to strengthen the area surrounding the le hole and does not facilitate the application or removal of the sheet to and from a binder ring or post, this being possible only by unlocking or disconnecting the ring or post somewhere along its length.

Further, in U.S. Patent No. 919,620, there is disclosed a paper clip or fastener adapted for application to a tile sheet and which comprises a metallic clip having a split ring portion, arms extending from that portion, the openings in the clip registering with the slots in the sheet, punched teeth in the ring and arms to secure the clip to the sheet, the ends of the arms being adapted to be bent back on themselves to assist in securing the clip to the sheet, and one or both of the arms being adapted to be adjusted after the insertion of the Sheet in the binder to partially close one of the tiling slots to prevent thereby the removal of the sheet from the binder. Such a fastener is fairly complex and expensive and requires care in its insertion and removal to and from a binder ring or post in order to prevent damage to the tile sheet t which it is attached.

According to the present invention, a novel file tab has been devised which comprises a generally rectangular sha ed, fairly rigid but ilexible, thin dat sheet which is preferably formed of a plastic material such as acetate, although not necessarily so. A hole or eyelet is provided approximately centrally of lthe sheet of the general shape and size as that of the le sheet to which it is to be applied. A very narrow slot is provided from one edge of the tab and at right angles to the eyelet so as 3,107,673 Patented Oct. 22, 1963 to communicate therewith and directed toward the center of that eyelet. Additionally, although not absolutely necessary to the invention, a cutout is provided at the intersection of lthe slot with the :edge of the tab, which cutout is preferably V-shaped with the apex thereof inwardly directed toward the eyelet, although the cutout may also be square-shaped or semi-circular. The size of the cutout is relatively small as compared to that of the eyelet. To insure quick and easy removal of the tab from .the binder ring, a similar cutout is provided at the opposite end of the slot and outwardly directed. This latter cutout forms one of the important features of this invention.

The tab is provided with an adhesive having a removable protective backing so that it may conveniently be applied to a tile record of any type with the eyelet in the tab registering with that already provided in the file record, the dimensions of the tab being such that the slotted edge thereof will coincide with the' binding edgev of the le record. `One :such tab is applied to each t binder hole of the le record. A slight fleXingrof the edges adjacent to the le tab slot in opposite directions will then provide an adjacent slot in the le record and will permit the tab and tile record to be inserted edgewise very easily upon the binder ring without necessitating its unlocking or releasing in any manner. Since the binder ring is substantially completely enclosed by the tab, which itself is relatively rigid as compared to the file sheet, unintended removal is rendered practically impossible. To remove the file sheet and tab from the binder post, it is only necessary to grasp the sheet and give it a quick jerk outwardly `from the binder ring. As the latter strikes the cutout provided at the inner end of the slot, it will quickly cause the edges along the slot to part in opposite `directions to permit removal from the ring. i

In those cases where the tile record is of substantial thickness and is fairly rigid, it may not be absolutely necessary to apply a tab to the record, and the advantages of the invention may be achieved by providing the Irecord itself with the `slot and cutouts as above discussed adjacent the binder hole already present in the record.

lFurther objects and advantages will be apparent from the description to follow.

lIn the drawings:

IFIGUREI is a plan view of a preferred form of the le tab;

FIGURES 2 to 5 are`various`modiiications of the tab;

IFIGURE 6 is a view of the edge of the `tab with an adhesive and protective backing applied thereto;

FIGURES 7 and 8 show two forms of the tab as applied to a tile record; and

'FIGURE 9 is a partial view of a file record of a rela- Itively rigid material, illustrating how it may be modied Without applying a separate tab thereto.

In FIGURE 1 the tile tab is shown as comprising a generally rectangular shaped ilat sheet 11 which may be comprised of any suitable fibrous or plastic material. In one preferred embodiment the tab is formed of an acetate which is fairly rigid but flexible. A thickness of labout 0.010 of an inch hasbeen found to be especially suitableY In all the illustrations shown, it should be understood that the outer of the two cutouts provided is not necessary for the purposes of the invention although the tile record is rendered more easily insertable in a retaining member thereby. However, if the inner cutout were not provided, then removal of the record is possible only with relatively greater diiculty and usually not without tearing the slotted area.

In the modilcation illustrated in FIGURE 2, the Itab is constructed similarly to that of FIGURE l, with the exception that the lou-touts 19 and '20 are rectangular shaped.

In FIGURE 3, aga-in the tab is similar to that of FIG- URE l except that the cutouts 20 and 21 are semi-circular. In eac-h of FIGURES l to 3 the tabs are adapted for use in binders wherein the lbinder ring has a `circular crosssection.

In some binders the ring cross-section is rect-angular and accordingly in FIGURE 4 the tab is shown having an eyelet Z2 having such a shape but otherwise is similar to that of FIGURE l.

Additionally, FIGURE 5 shows a modification in which the eyelet 23 has a I,generally triangular shape for a still different binder ring or rod. The inner cutout 24 of this species has been enlarged so that the extrem-ities of the two legs of the cutout each intersect one 0i the legs of the triangular cutout at the adjacent end thereof as illustrated.

An end view of a -ile tab is shown in FIGURE 6. The sheet 11 has a thin coating of an adhesive substance 25 oi any suitable nature over which is applied a protective removable backing such as glassine paper. The backing may be `applied in two sections which overlap at'27 to facilitate removal thereof prior to application to a file record.

Such a hie record is shown at 28 in FIGURE 7 to which la pair of the tile tabs of FIGURE 1 have been applied so that the eyelet 12 registers with each of 4the binder holes of the file record. The dimensions of the tab should be such that the edge 14 of the tab coincides with the binding edge 29 of the tile record. The assembly is now ready to be quickly and easily inserted upon -a pai-r of binder rings or rods, a cross-section of which is shown at 3%) and 31, merely by flexing or bending the edges 32 Yand 33 :adjacent the slot 13 in opposite directions and pushing the tab against the ring 30, or with slightly greater effort merely by pushing the cutout 17 against the ring. Removal is quickly 4accomplished by grasping the ile record and giving a quick jerk in a direction away from the `binder ring. Unintentional removal of the tab and record is practically impossible.

In FIGURE 8 the tile record 34 is provided with a 4 single triangular eyelet and is shown as having the tab ot FIGURE 5 applied thereto in a manner similar to the tabs oi FIGURE 7. Such a construction is intended for use with a single triangular shaped binder ring, a crosssection of which is shown at 35. Insertion land removal ot this assembly is alected as in FIGURE 7.

In FIGURE 9, a par-t of a iile record of a relatively rigid mate-rial is shown at 36. This may be, lfor example, off a lcardboard having a thickness of from ten to fifteen th'ousandths of an inch. The record is shown as provided with the usual binder eyelet or hole 37 adjacent an edge 38. A thin slot 39, similar to that shown at 13 in FIG- URE l, is provided between the eyelet and edge 38. Further, a cutout 4t) is provided at the inner end of the slot to communicate with the eyelet, which cutout .may be of any oi the shapes shown in FIGURES 1 to 3. If desired, a further similar cutout 41 is provided at the outer end of the slot to facilitate passage of the record into the retaining member. Due to the rigidity of -this type of le record, the reinforcement of a sepa-rate tab is not as necessary as in the case of less rigid tile sheets. While several modifications 4of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that other obvious modifications, such `as substitutions of features of one for those of another, may be made without departing from the spi-rit of the invention or scope of the claim.

I claim:

A reinforcing tab for application to a single tile record which comprises a iiat resilient member substantially rectangular in configuration and having a single eyelet generally centrally located therein, a slot extending from an edge `of said member to said eyelet and directed toward the center of said eyelet, -a V-shaped cutout communicating with said edge and slot and having its apex inwardly directed, said cutout #being adapted to facilitate application of lsaid record to a retaining member, a further V-shaped cutout communicating with said eyelet and said slot and having its apex' outwardly directed, said further cutout being adapted to Yfacilitate removal of said record from a retaining member, an adhesive substance applied to one surface of said tab, and a removable backing overlying said adhesive sub stance.

.References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 631,127 Razall Aug. 15, 1899 792,747 Anderson et al. .Tune 20, 1905 1,428,377 Jewell Sept. 5, 1922 2,274,080 Mathews Feb. 24, `1942 2,413,078 Scholeld Dec. 24, 1946 2,704,599 Tuttle et al. Mar. 22, 1955 2,755,576 Golden July 24, 1956 2,799,275 Darden July 16, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,187,509 France Mar. 2, 1959 

